


Looking Ahead

by flaming_muse



Category: Glee
Genre: Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-17 00:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1367254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flaming_muse/pseuds/flaming_muse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt expects, when Blaine lets them in to the empty Anderson house after the school day is over, to be offered a beverage and then to be invited up as quickly as possible to Blaine’s very comfortable, very private, very clothing-optional bedroom.</p>
<p>set the afternoon of the diva-off in 5x12 (“100”), no spoilers beyond</p>
            </blockquote>





	Looking Ahead

Kurt expects, when Blaine lets them in to the empty Anderson house after the school day is over, to be offered a beverage and then to be invited up as quickly as possible to Blaine’s very comfortable, very private, very clothing-optional bedroom.

Kurt approves of this plan. He likes this plan. He’s looking forward to this plan. After all, he’s been apart from Blaine for a few weeks now and for the long, cold months while they were broken up, and they’ve been together the whole day singing and dancing with glee club, which is pretty much foreplay for them. He’s been watching Blaine move all day, watching Blaine watch _him_ all day. It’s been dreamy, music-filled flirting at pretty much its best. He’s more than ready to take this opportunity to move to the kissing and touching part of the visit.

It’s not that he _has_ to take advantage of every chance to get his mouth on Blaine’s skin, of course, but he certainly wouldn’t _mind_...

Blaine does lead him to the kitchen and offer him a beverage, which Kurt accepts gratefully, but then instead of leaning in and giving Kurt a teasing, heartbeat-spiking kiss, Blaine leans back against the counter and asks with a worried sigh, “Who would _you_ choose?”

Kurt blinks at him for a moment in honest surprise, because they’d already talked some in the car about the diva-off, and Blaine had been totally on board with skipping out on going to the Lima Bean with Mercedes and Tina, so Kurt had been _sure_ he was also on board with the whole clothing-optional thing, but... if Blaine needs to talk then they should talk. Kurt can be flexible in more ways than just the physical.

With a sigh of his own - not so much worried as resigned - he drops his hand from where he was flirtily playing with the scarf at his throat, sets down his glass of ice water, and replies yet again, “I don’t know.” He really doesn’t, although he also hasn’t actually thought about it all that much. He was there to sing today, not to judge.

Okay, he’s always judging, but it’s not like there was much to complain about in either of their performances.

Blaine’s shoulders fall - his very nice shoulders, framed so well by his shirt - and he turns to pull a notebook from his school bag, which he’d set on the counter when they came in. “I took notes,” he says. “But they aren’t helping me.”

Kurt smiles a little, because Blaine took _notes_. It’s kind of charming. He’s either going to get eaten alive at NYADA or rule the school with his dedication; Kurt would put his money on the latter.

“Technically, they were both excellent,” Blaine says, opening his notebook and tapping his fingers against the page of tidy notes.

“Mm,” Kurt replies, watching those strong fingers with their neatly trimmed nails, his blood humming with the knowledge of just how they feel, moisturized and cared for but still a little boy-rough in the best way. And Blaine’s arm above them is so strong, a little raspy with hair and always so warm with life when he is nice enough to wrap it around Kurt...

“I mean, obviously they would be,” Blaine continues with a self-deprecating nod, sadly not making a move toward him with said arm. “I can’t mark either of them down for that.”

“Of course not,” Kurt agrees.

Blaine’s fingers tap against his notes again; Kurt can remember how they feel against his own hand, how they feel on the fastenings of his clothes, how they feel on his bare skin. “Mercedes’ voice is rich and full of soul, but Rachel has a more polished theatrical style, thanks to her training.”

Kurt nods, drifting closer, close enough to reach out and touch if it were welcome. It’s almost always been welcome. “True.”

Blaine looks up at him in real indecision, and Kurt forces himself to pull his attention away from Blaine’s hand. “I just don’t know how we’re supposed to decide,” Blaine says. The furrow between his brows makes Kurt wonder if someday Blaine will have a wrinkle there from taking things so seriously; to his chagrin, Kurt’s fairly certain it will be attractive. “What are the criteria for winning? Did anyone say? How do we judge?”

Kurt reaches for his glass again, because he’s pretty sure he needs to cool off a little. _He’s_ the one who is getting distracted. Conversation comes first. He sips at his drink and lets the cold water soothe him. “Who is better,” he answers with a shrug.

“But this isn’t a formal competition,” Blaine says, still frowning. “There aren’t any real rules. There’s no checklist to fill out. They’re both amazing. So what does ‘better’ mean?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it,” Kurt says with some sympathy from the memory of being in that position. “These rivalries and diva-offs never make a lot of sense, Blaine. Trust me. They’re popularity contests more than anything. Most people just play favorites and pick the person they like better.”

“But they’re both my friends,” Blaine says. He glances at his notebook and then looks back at Kurt helplessly. “And besides, that doesn’t really seem fair.”

Kurt can’t help but laugh. As much as Blaine has become a core member of glee club, there’s a part of him that will never fit in, and Kurt loves him for it. He loves that Blaine, in a different way than he does, sees how ridiculous it all can be. “It isn’t about fairness. It’s about who you think deserves to come out on top.”

“But they both deserve to win.”

“That’s not quite the same thing,” Kurt says. “Here. Let me make this easier for you. Whose retribution do you fear more when she learns you didn’t vote for her?”

Blaine goes pale, his mouth dropping open in horror for a long moment. His voice is weak when he breathes out, “Oh, god.” Then he shakes his head and swallows, raising his chin in a futile but charming attempt not to look scared. “No, that shouldn’t matter. I can’t vote based on fear. That’s not right.”

Kurt shrugs again. “I’m just trying to be practical. Rachel will be more vocal about your betrayal, but Mercedes can really hold a grudge. But Rachel’s in New York, so...” He looks down at his glass and smiles a little, because soon _Blaine_ will be in New York, with _him_ , and all of the talk of contests and retribution fades away to nothingness at the thought. They’re going to be together. Day and night. Weeks and months and years. Engaged. Married. Living their lives together.

He gets to marry Blaine and have him with him every day. It’s definitely worth smiling about, no matter what April might have said to them.

“I don’t know why you aren’t more worried about this,” Blaine says, pulling him out of his reverie. “This is serious, Kurt.”

Kurt can’t stop himself from making a little face, because it really isn’t. It’s just Rachel and Mercedes being ridiculous and needing to prove something that doesn’t need to be proven. It’s not like the glee club’s approval matters at all, especially not when they aren’t even a part of it anymore. They have careers now. Why are they fighting over a meaningless title from a club in a school they graduated from a year ago?

“It’s the last diva-off of glee club,” Blaine insists. “Ever.”

Kurt’s heart stutters in his chest, desperately sad at the thought. It’s a distant sadness, because he isn’t a part of it now, but even if it’s not _his_ loss it’s still a loss. He might be so firmly grounded in his own life in New York that he doesn’t have to care about diva-offs and drama at McKinley anymore, but that there won’t _be_ diva-offs seems so very wrong. There was a time when he _needed_ to prove himself and make his voice be heard, and he doesn’t think he’d be where he is if he hadn’t had the chance to go toe-to-toe with Rachel, bring down the house with Mercedes, or take home a Nationals trophy with his friends. He wouldn’t be as sure of himself or as strong. He wouldn’t have _become_ himself.

Without glee, he wouldn’t have found Blaine, either. He wouldn’t be at NYADA. He wouldn’t have had Carole and Finn join his family.

His life now is unthinkable without glee club being in his past.

And yet... “It still doesn’t mean anything,” Kurt says. “Whoever wins, it doesn’t change who they are. What does it get them? Bragging rights?” He rolls his eyes. “It’s not like they can put it on their resumes. They’re both amazing, no matter who wins the vote. They should already know that.” Not that there isn’t a lot of fighting going on in New York, too, but he can at least say that it’s not _him_ doing it.

Blaine watches him for a moment, his eyes fixed on Kurt’s face and his expression melting from concerned into something soft and adoring. “I really wish I could just vote for _you_ , Kurt,” he says, the warmth in his voice just as lovely and lifting as Kurt’s earlier thoughts of the lifetime ahead of them. “You were amazing, too. You _are_ amazing.”

Kurt’s smile broadens at the fervor in Blaine’s voice, and he happily takes Blaine’s hand when Blaine reaches for him. “Thank you,” he says and revels in the touch of his skin, the soft-dry texture of his fingers, “but I’m not on the ballot.”

“You should be,” Blaine tells him.

Kurt shrugs again. He’s already proven himself against Rachel at NYADA, and he could have won the first time against her, too. “I don’t have to prove anything to them. Or to myself.”

“I still think you’re the best,” Blaine says, and the light in his eyes makes Kurt’s pulse start to race all over again. He can’t help but be drawn in by that kind of belief in him.

“Well, who am I to argue?” Kurt says and drinks in the way Blaine grins and ducks his head. “I’m happy to leave the petty high school battles to the girls, though. I don’t know why they still want to have them.”

“It feels good to win things,” Blaine says a little more mutedly.

Kurt strokes over Blaine’s hand in comfort. He knows it was hard for him to lose Nationals. He knows Blaine took it as a personal failure.

Kurt remembers how important it had felt at the time. Everything had felt important. Every solo, every note, every little argument, even every show choir competition. It all feels so small now in comparison with the battles he fights each day at NYADA and all of the roles he wants to win in New York, just like the halls of McKinley seem small and pedestrian now, too, instead of being huge and filled with danger the way they were a few years ago. Times have changed. He has changed.

“You’ll win other things,” Kurt assures him. “We all will. High school isn’t the end, Blaine. It’s only the beginning.”

Blaine looks down at their hands and smooths his thumb over the ring on Kurt’s finger. _His_ ring on Kurt’s finger, a promise for them both. The pad of his thumb passes over it a few thoughtful times before he looks up again with a fierce smile. “You’re right,” he says.

“Of course I’m right,” Kurt replies, and he’s happy to hear Blaine laugh in return, even though it isn’t really all that funny. He’s almost always right, after all; there’s no joke in that.

“And yet you still can’t help me figure out who to vote for,” Blaine says, stepping in a little closer, his grip warm and secure on Kurt’s hand. “Or won’t.”

Kurt’s free hand drifts up to his scarf again, toying with the silky fabric. “I’m sure if you go over your extensive and detailed notes again tonight you’ll figure it out.”

Blaine raises his eyebrows in amusement and asks, “Are you making fun of me?”

Tipping his head, Kurt smiles at him and says, “A little bit. But with love, if that makes it any better.”

“Love makes everything better,” Blaine says, and he finally, _finally_ leans in and kisses him.

Kurt hums happily against Blaine’s soft, eager lips and even more happily opens to him as Blaine almost immediately breathes out in that way Kurt knows means he’s turned on and deepens the kiss. He shifts a touch so that Blaine’s weight can press him against the counter, grounding him and exciting him, and enjoys the way the contact makes his head spin. Yes, this is what he needs. Blaine is what he needs, not just in a physical way but in every way.

“I’ve missed you,” Blaine murmurs against the corner of his mouth, his eyes opening to look up at him with such radiant joy and need that Kurt’s heart twists in his chest in reply.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Kurt tells him, and he’s sure all of his feelings are written on his face, all of his bone-deep desire and adoration for this man he’s madly in love with. There’s something in the way that Blaine’s touch centers him that makes it impossible for him to want to hide at all.

Blaine’s long lashes lower as he glances at Kurt’s lips again, and he says, “Would you like to come upstairs?”

Kurt’s smile bursts out of him, wide and unfettered. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Blaine laughs again, his fingers curling tighter around Kurt’s. “You know you don’t have to wait for me to ask.”

“Well - “ Kurt waves his free hand around them before settling it back at Blaine’s trim waist. “ - it’s your house. It only seemed polite.”

Shaking his head, Blaine backs away, tugging Kurt with him by the hand. Kurt is more than happy to let him.

“But,” Kurt teases as they leave the kitchen, his heart as light as his footsteps, “if you prefer I can promise you that when we live together it will be different.”

“Oh, yeah?” Blaine’s face is lit up with joy as he looks over at Kurt, and he knows they’re sharing the same thrill at the thought of _their_ apartment, _their_ bed, everything theirs every single day.

“Mm, no please or thank you,” Kurt tells him. “No helping you with your bags. No special treatment. No wooing. No politeness at all. It’s the New York way.”

Blaine laughs again and guides him a swift, firm dip of a kiss at the bottom of the stairs before pulling him up them. “I’m looking forward to it,” he says over his shoulder.

Kurt watches his fiancé all but skip up the stairs, his steps quick, his back straight, his smile as bright as the sun, and thinks of how incredible it will be to be able to see it all each and every day. He thinks of how he won’t have to ration out kisses to remember between visits. He thinks of how having dinner together won’t be a date but just something they do when they get home from school. He thinks of how being able to share a bed - or even a drink - will stop being a rare treat and start being something they can take for granted.

He thinks of how every goal they reach, every success they have, will be all the better for getting to share it together.

It will be a whole different world than everything they had in high school. He’s sure it will be harder and easier all at once, just like everything seems to be. What’s important will change. What matters to them will change, too. He doesn’t even know how to plan for it.

He just knows that he can’t wait.

His heart pounding with excitement, Kurt holds onto Blaine’s hand and follows close behind him. “I’m looking forward to it, too,” he promises.

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder: I am spoiler-free!
> 
> (I am. So if Kurt assume things that are spoilers, I do not know them. I just think he thinks Blaine will get into NYADA and live with him. I know we don't know that! Don't tell me!)


End file.
